Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Review: SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #1

SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Victor Gischler
ART: David Baldeon
COLORS: Andres Mossa
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
COVER: Dan Mora with David Curiel
VARIANT COVERS: John Tyler Christopher; Ken Lashley with David Curiel; Mike McKone with Rachelle Rosenberg; Chip Zdarsky; Mark Texeira; Lenticular Variant based on Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2017)

Rated T+

War at the Gates of Hell Part 1

Johnny Blaze – the second Ghost Rider.  Eric Brooks – Blade the vampire hunter.  Damian Hellstrom – a.k.a. Son of Satan a.k.a. “Hellstorm.”  Satana – Damian's sister and the daughter of Satan.  They are the stars of a new five-issue miniseries from Marvel Comics, entitled Spirits of Vengeance.

This comic book is written by Victor Gischler; drawn by David Baldeón; colored by Andres Mossa; and lettered by Cory Petit.  The series follows a mission to keep the balance the power in an ancient war from tipping to one side.

Spirits of Vengeance #1 finds Johnny Blaze, the second Ghost Rider and the first supernatural and first superhero Ghost Rider, stopped at a bar on Route 66.  Nursing a beer, Blaze gets a fiery visit from a winged being.  Left with an item wanted by dark forces, Blaze turns to Damian Hellstrom for help and information.  A dead angel, a silver bullet; and a kept promise – Blaze and Hellstrom will find themselves caught in a war between Heaven and Hell.  They will need some help.

Writer Victor Gischler is good with dark and edgy action, but he is also an imaginative writer, as seen in his miniseries, Sally of the Wasteland (Titan Comics, 2014).  Spirits of Vengeance #1 offers the dark and the inventive, and it is a shame that what was supposed to be a regular series is only a miniseries.  Gischler could have done something good with this, and I feel safe saying that after reading only the first issue of this series.

Of course, Gischler has an excellent collaborator and storyteller in artist David Baldeón.  The Spanish artist reminds me of artist Joe Madureira.  Here, Baldeón presents elastic and supple figure drawings that give the characters life and also give them distinct personalities – even the characters who are not around for long.  This is dynamic graphical storytelling, with an excellent sense of the dark and the supernatural.  And Baldeón simply makes Spirits of Vengeance look different from other Marvel titles.

Well, I'll enjoy this comic book while I can.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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